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Welcome Back Kotter
*The original title of the series was to be simply "Kotter," but that was before composer John Sebastian had difficulty writing the theme song lyrics. He couldn't find enough rhyming words for the title. Giving up on that tack, he decided to compose lyrics that illustrated the premise of the show in a song called, "Welcome Back." The producers were so impressed with the song that they decided to change the series title to "Welcome Back, Kotter." The song was also released on a single which went to #1 on the charts.
*The show always began and ended with Gabe Kotter telling his wife Julie a joke, except for the last episode. In that episode, Marcia Strassman had left the set after a dispute, so Gabe Kaplan tells the last joke to a stuffed bear.
*The show was originally banned in Boston. The Boston ABC affiliate did not want to air the show at first because they thought it was about busing, a very heated topic at the time. They eventually ran the show with no problems.
*Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta both left the show after the third season. Kaplan left over creative differences with James Komack. Travolta left after the massive success of Saturday Night Fever (1977). Kaplan appeared rarely in the final season but his name was still featured in the opening credits as being the star of the show. John Travolta appeared occasionally in the final season. When he did appear he was listed as "Special Guest Star".
*A spin-off was planned starring Ron Palillo titled "Horshack". The show was to feature Arnold Horshack and his family. Episode #2.19 "There Goes Number 5" served as the pilot for the proposed series but the show never materialized.
This sitcom was not aired in Italy until John Travolta's big smash on the silver screen as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977), whose title was literally translated as "La febbre del sabato sera". This is why Italian adaptors decided to rename this sitcom "I ragazzi del sabato sera", i.e. "Saturday Night Guys".
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